In response to the Government’s second reading of the Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Bill, Kent Law School Lecturer Dr Alan Mckenna said:
‘The Government have widely flagged up their intention to introduce further regulatory measures in respect to drone use, and today in the House of Lords these additional measures are being brought forward and discussed when the Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Bill has its second reading.
‘The proposed measures include providing police with drone specific powers to stop and search people and vehicles where it is suspected a drone has been flown in violation of existing laws. Interestingly this new stop and search power includes situations where a police officer reasonably suspects the drone has been involved in the commission of an offence under Article 240 of the Air Navigation Order 2016, which concerns the endangering of aircraft. Unless the government are also proposing to change the applicability of Article 240, this could create a legal anomaly, in that Article 240 currently does not apply to drones weighing up to 20kg.
‘The Bill also gives police powers to search premises under a warrant. Further measures relate to the newly introduced drone registration and competency test schemes. Police officers will be able to request a drone pilot prove that they have completed the online competency test, and a drone operator will have to, when asked, provide evidence that they have registered the drone for which they are the operator.
‘Powers to issue fixed penalty notices are also included. So, in situations where drones are being flown in violation of existing rules and it appears there is not a deliberate intent on the part of the pilot to commit the particular offence, a police officer will be able to issue a fixed penalty notice.’
Dr Alan McKenna has featured widely in television, radio and in print with his expert insights on the law and new developing technologies, including drones.
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